Rule 5.Service and Filing of Pleadings and Other Papers

Last amended July 1, 2023 · Last verified July 2, 2026

In one sentenceRule 5 requires every pleading after the original complaint, every motion, order, and discovery paper to be served on each party — usually through their attorney, by delivery, mail, email, or a court e-filing system — and to be filed with the court within a reasonable time, with service excused only for parties already adjudged in default.

Full Text of Rule 5

Text sizeJump to: (5.01) (5.02) (5.03) (5.04) (5.05) (5.06)

5.01 Service -- When Required. Unless the court otherwise orders, every order required by its terms to be served; every pleading subsequent to the original complaint; every paper relating to discovery required to be served on a party; every amendment; every written motion other than one which may be heard ex parte; and, every written notice, appearance, demand, offer of judgment, designation of record on appeal, and similar papers shall be served upon each of the parties; but no service need be made on parties adjudged in default for failure to appear, except that pleadings asserting new or additional claims for relief against them shall be served upon them in the manner provided for service of summons, or for constructive service, in Rules 4, 4A, or 4B.

5.02 Service -- How Made. Service shall be made pursuant to one of the methods set forth in (1), (2), or (3). Whenever under these rules service is required or permitted to be made on a party represented by an attorney, the service shall be made on the attorney unless service on the party is ordered by the court. If an attorney has filed a notice of limited scope representation or a notice of limited appearance for an otherwise self-represented person, pursuant to Rule 11.01(b), service shall be made on the self-represented person and on the attorney until such time as a notice of completion of limited scope representation has been filed. After notice of completion of limited scope representation has been filed, service on the attorney previously providing limited scope representation shall no longer be necessary.

(1) Service on the attorney or on a party may be made by delivering to the attorney a copy of the document to be served, or by mailing it to such person's last known address, or if no address is known, by leaving the copy with the clerk of the court. Delivery of a copy within this rule means: handing it to the attorney or to the party; or leaving it at such person's office with a clerk or other person in charge thereof; or, if there is none in charge, leaving it in a conspicuous place therein; or, if the office is closed or the person to be served has no office, leaving it at the person's dwelling house or usual place of abode with some person of suitable age and discretion then residing therein. Service by mail is complete upon mailing. Documents which may be filed by facsimile transmission pursuant to Rule 5A may be served by facsimile transmission.

(2)

(a) Service on any attorney or on a party may also be made by emailing the person the document in Adobe PDF to the recipient's email address, which shall be promptly furnished on request. The sender shall include language in the subject line designed to alert the recipient that a document is being served under this rule.

(b) A sender who emails a document and is notified that it was not received must promptly furnish a copy of the document to the person who did not receive it.

(c) A document transmitted by email shall be treated as a document that was mailed for purposes of computation of time under Rule 6.

(d) For good cause shown, an attorney or self-represented party may obtain a court order prohibiting service of documents on that person by electronic mail and requiring that all documents be served under subsection (1) or (3).

(3)

(a) Service required by these rules also may be made on any registered user of a court's Efiling system by filing any document that may be E-served with that court's E-filing system. Eservice shall constitute effective service under these rules and no other service on such registered users is required, unless otherwise ordered by the court.

(b) Any attorney or any self-represented party who is not a registered user of an E-filing system, or known by the E-filer not to have been E-served, must be served by a means authorized in subsection (1) or (2) of this rule.

(c) Unless ordered otherwise by the court, a court or court clerk may, through such court's Efiling system, transmit to registered users all notices, orders, opinions, or judgments filed by the court or court clerk, which transmission shall constitute proper service and shall satisfy the notice requirements of Tenn. R. Civ. P. 58 or any other applicable rules of procedure.

(d) Any court has the discretion, for good cause shown, to order that a means of service authorized in these rules other than E-service be required in a particular case.

(e) A document that is E-served shall be treated as a document that was mailed for purposes of computation of time under Rule 6.

(f) For purposes of E-service under Rule 5, the definitions in Rule 5B shall apply.

5.03 Service -- Proof of. Whenever any pleading or other paper is served under 5.01 and 5.02, proof of the time and manner of such service shall be filed before action is taken thereon by the court or the parties. Proof may be by certificate of a member of the bar of the court or by affidavit of the person who served the papers, or by any other proof satisfactory to the court.

5.04 Service -- Numerous Defendants. In any action in which there are unusually large numbers of defendants, the court, upon motion or of its own initiative, may order that service of the pleadings of the defendants and replies thereto need not be made as between the defendants and that any cross-claim, counterclaim, or matter constituting an avoidance or affirmative defense contained therein shall be deemed to be denied or avoided by all other persons, and that the filing of any such pleading and service thereof upon the plaintiff constitutes due notice of it to the parties. A copy of every such order shall be served upon the parties in such manner and form as the court directs.

5.05 Filing. All papers after the complaint required to be served upon a party shall be filed with the court either before service or within a reasonable time thereafter, but the court may on motion of a party or on its own initiative order that depositions upon oral examination; interrogatories; requests for documents; requests for admission; and answers and responses thereto not be filed unless on order of the court or for use in the proceeding.

5.06 Filing with the Court Defined. The filing of pleadings and other papers with the court as required by these rules shall be made by filing them with the clerk of the court, except that the judge may permit the papers to be filed with the judge, in which event he or she shall note thereon the filing date and forthwith transmit them to the office of the clerk. The clerk shall endorse upon every pleading and other papers filed with the clerk in an action the date and hour of the filing. Recycled paper with the highest feasible percentage postconsumer waste content is recommended and encouraged for all papers filed with the court. If papers required or permitted to be filed pursuant to the rules of civil procedure are prepared by or on behalf of a pro se litigant incarcerated in a correctional facility and are not received by the clerk of the court until after the time fixed for filing, filing shall be timely if the papers were delivered to the appropriate individual at the correctional facility within the time fixed for filing. This provision shall also apply to service of paper by such litigants pursuant to the rules of civil procedure. "Correctional facility" shall include a prison, jail, county workhouse or similar institution in which the pro se litigant is incarcerated. Should timeliness of filing or service become an issue, the burden is on the pro se litigant to establish compliance with this provision.

End

Advisory Commission Comments

Advisory Commission Comments.

Rule 5 requires service of pleadings filed subsequent to the original complaint, orders, written motions, discovery papers, and other papers, upon each of the parties. Exceptions are made with respect to motions which may be heard ex parte (Rule 5.01), and with respect to pleadings filed by various defendants when the court orders that, because of numerous defendants, pleadings need not be served as between defendants (Rule 5.04). The Rule spells out the details of how service shall be made, and provides that proof of service is accomplished by certificate of a member of the bar, or by affidavit of the person serving the copy, or by other proof satisfactory to the court. The details set out in the Rule are designed to give every reasonable assurance that a copy of the pertinent papers in the suit actually reach adversary parties through their counsel or directly. The Rule provides that copies need not be served on parties adjudged in default for failure to appear; but if the pleadings assert new or additional claims for relief against such parties in default, copies must be served upon the parties. Rule 55 sets out the circumstances and procedures for entering judgment by default for failure to appear.

5.01: In litigation involving more parties than a single plaintiff and single defendant, it sometimes is essential for every party to keep abreast of all procedural developments despite the lack of a direct effect on each litigant. Consequently, the Commission advises deletion of the "affected thereby" language; all papers must be served on all parties "unless the court otherwise orders." [1984.]

5.05: Often there is no utility in filing discovery papers with the clerk, and the amendment gives parties and judges the option of abandoning the requirement. A local court rule could constitute an "order" on the court's initiative. Because filing of such papers may be a necessary step toward offering them into evidence, however, the final wording is included: "or for use in the proceedings." [1984.]

Advisory Commission Comments [1997].

The amendment conforms pro se prisoner filings of trial court papers to the provision in T.R.A.P. 20(a) concerning appellate court papers.

Advisory Commission Comments [2000].

Pro se litigants who are incarcerated in correctional facilities cannot ensure the timely mailing of their mail and, as a consequence, cannot control the timely filing of their legal papers. This amendment deletes the previous, pro se prisoner-filing provision contained in Rule 5.06 and substitutes a clarified provision. The pro se prisoner filing provision applies to all "papers required or permitted to be filed pursuant to the rules of civil procedure," including the filing of a complaint under Rule 3.

Court and Advisory Commission Comments. It is the public policy of the State of Tennessee to encourage recycling and the use of recycled products and materials. This policy is reflected in the Tennessee Solid Waste Planning and Recovery Act (title 68, ch. 211, part 6) and in the Solid Waste Management Act of 1991 (title 68, ch. 211, part 8). The underlined portion of Rule 5.06 denotes the addition to Rule 5.06 effective July 1, 1993, in which the Court recommends and encourages that all papers filed in the Tennessee courts be submitted on recycled paper.

Advisory Commission Comments [2004].

An additional method of service of pleadings and other papers, by facsimile transmission, is limited by the conditions in Rule 5A on filing by facsimile. For example, such service is limited to those documents which may be filed by facsimile transmission. Also, the sender bears the risk of ineffective transmission.

Advisory Commission Comments [2010].

The Commission is aware that many attorneys serve documents on one another electronically but, because the current rule does not provide electronic service is sufficient service, also send a paper copy of the document. This rule change is designed to allow attorneys to accomplish service of pleadings and other papers electronically without the need to send a physical copy.

The requirement that the sender shall include language in the subject line designed to alert the recipient that a document is being served under this rule is intended to reduce the possibility that the recipient might overlook the service of a document. Words in the subject line to the effect of "TRCP Rule 5 Service of Document in Smith v. Jones" are sufficient. Adobe PDF was chosen as the format because it is required for federal court filings and virtually all attorneys have ready access to it. Of course, the parties may stipulate to the use of a different format. The mailing or hand delivery of a certificate was included out of concern, well-founded or not, that an email transmitting a document could be lost in cyberspace. The certificate requirement puts the receiving attorney on notice that a document has been sent and, if the document was not received, will allow that attorney to initiate a process for promptly obtaining a copy of it. The rule provides a mechanism for a court to order, for good cause shown, that electronic service of pleadings and papers not be permitted in a particular case.

Advisory Commission Comments [2012].

The first paragraph of Rule 5.02 is amended to address service of pleadings and other papers in cases in which an attorney has filed a notice of limited scope representation or a notice of limited appearance for an otherwise self- represented person, pursuant to Rule 11.01(b).

Advisory Commission Comments [2020].

Rule 5.02(3) has been added to provide for electronic service through a court's E-Filing system, provided that such a system has been authorized by such court pursuant to Rule 5B of these rules. The amended rule authorizes E- service through a court's electronic transmission facilities as to any registered user of such facilities. An attorney or party who chooses to become a registered user of a court's E-filing system shall be required to accept service through the court's electronic facilities unless otherwise ordered by the court in that particular case. As a result of this amendment, service may be effectuated under these rules by any of three means: the conventional means of service authorized in Rule 5.02(1), by electronic transmission or email as authorized in Rule 5.02(2), or by E-service pursuant to Rule 5.02(3) in those courts that have adopted an E-filing system that complies with Rule 5B and the technological standards promulgated by the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Advisory Commission Comments [2023].

Rule 5.02(2) is amended to provide self-represented parties the same convenience in sending and receiving documents by email that is afforded to attorneys. Section 5.02(2)(d) provides that a trial court may excuse a party from receiving service by email "for good cause shown [...] ." The rule is not intended to require pro se litigants who lack regular and reliable email access to find a means to acquire it. When email service is feasible, however, courts should "not excuse the pro se litigant from complying with the same substantive and procedural rules that represented parties are expected to observe." State v. Sprunger, 458 S.W.3d 482, 491 (Tenn. 2015) (Citations omitted). Rule 5.02(2) is further amended to eliminate the requirement of a mailed, faxed, or hand-delivered certificate advising that a document has been transmitted electronically.

Amendment History

Rule 5.01 [As amended by order entered January 31, 1984, effective August 20, 1984; and by order entered January 26, 1999, effective July 1, 1999.]
Rule 5.02 [As amended by order entered January 31, 1984, effective August 20, 1984; by order entered December 10, 2003, effective July 1, 2004; by order entered December 14, 2009, effective July 1, 2010; by order filed January 13, 2012, effective July 1, 2012; by order dated January 16, 2020, effective July 1, 2020; and by order dated December 19, 2022, effective July 1, 2023.]
Rule 5.05 [As amended by order entered January 31, 1984, effective August 20, 1984.]
Rule 5.06 [As amended by order entered May 25, 1993, effective July 1, 1993; and by order effective July 1, 1997; as amended by order entered January 28, 2000, effective July 1, 2000.]

Plain-English Summary

Rule 5.01 casts a wide net: every order required to be served, every pleading after the original complaint, discovery papers, amendments, written motions other than those heard ex parte, and similar notices and demands must be served on each party, unless the court orders otherwise. The one exception is a party already adjudged in default for failing to appear — though even that party must still be served if a later pleading asserts a new or additional claim against it, using the same methods Rules 4, 4A, or 4B use for an original summons.

Rule 5.02 lays out three ways to accomplish that service. The traditional route is delivery to the attorney or party, or mailing to a last-known address, with service by mail complete on mailing. A second route allows service by emailing the document as an Adobe PDF, with the sender required to flag the email’s subject line as a service under this rule and to promptly resend if notified the email did not arrive. A third route lets service happen automatically through a court’s e-filing system for any registered user, once that court has adopted such a system consistent with Rule 5B. A court may order a different method for good cause, and both email and e-filed service are treated as service by mail for computing time under Rule 6.

Rule 5.03 requires proof of the time and manner of service to be filed before the court or the parties act on the paper served, typically by an attorney’s certificate or an affidavit. Rule 5.04 lets a court excuse service between numerous co-defendants when a case has an unusually large number of them. Rule 5.05 requires papers to be filed with the court either before service or within a reasonable time after, though the court can order discovery materials like depositions and interrogatories held back from the file unless a rule or order calls for filing them. Rule 5.06 defines filing with the court as filing with the clerk, unless a judge permits filing directly with the judge, who must then note the filing date and promptly forward the papers to the clerk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does every filing after the complaint have to be served on all parties?

Yes, with one exception. Rule 5.01 requires service of everything filed after the original complaint, except that a party already adjudged in default for failing to appear need not be served — unless the new filing asserts an additional claim against that party.

Can documents be served by email in Tennessee civil cases?

Yes. Rule 5.02 allows service by emailing a document in Adobe PDF format, provided the subject line identifies it as a service under the rule and the sender promptly resends if notified the email was not received.

Do discovery papers like depositions have to be filed with the court?

Not automatically. Rule 5.05 lets the court order that depositions, interrogatories, and similar discovery material not be filed with the clerk unless a rule, order, or a party’s request calls for it.

Source & verification. The rule text and Advisory Commission Comments are reproduced verbatim from the official Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure (Tenn. R. Civ. P. 5). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Tennessee (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 16-3-402 to 16-3-407, 16-3-601). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 2, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: service of pleadingscertificate of servicee-servicefiling with the court